Human Rights

Archive for the ‘Women’s Rights’ Category

Souad Al-Shammary, Saudi Arabia’s first female attorney, has been imprisoned for speaking out about women’s rights and her opposition to the male guardian system. She was arrested on October 28th and remains in detention.Read More

Statement from Marie O’Connor Chairperson Survivors of Symphysiotomy (SoS) in response to Government shameful attempts to railroad women into redress scheme in a move to try and head off the imminent legislation.

Survivors of symphysiotomy have called on the Government to ‘open the gates’ on its redress scheme, which was announced this morning without consultation. The scheme, they say, remains ‘utterly unjust’ and ‘puts a gun to the head of survivors’. Marie O’Connor, Chairperson of Survivors of Symphyiotomy, the national membership group for around 400 survivors, said: ‘the Government scheme, as announced to the media, appears to form part of a pincer movement designed to force survivors to choose prematurely between legal action and ‘redress’. ‘The current time limits ​being enforced under this discriminatory scheme are unprecedented, unreasonable and unworkable. The gates close in 20 working​ ​days, making it impossible for women to seek independent advice and to make a considered decision. All other redress schemes, with one exception, were left open. We want this draconian expiry date lifted. The gates should remain open, as they were for victims of contaminated blood, those abused in residential institutions, and survivors of the Magdalen laundries.’ Read More

The 25 pregnant clients of Philomena Canning, who three weeks on from losing their midwife without reason or notice have still not been given a replacement midwife by the HSE, brought a petition to Minister Varadkar at the Dáil this morning.Read More